1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device, a personal identification number (hereinafter referred to as a PIN) verification program, and a method of verifying a PIN, which are preferably applicable to, for example, a mobile telephone, a personal handyphone system (PHS), a personal digital assistant (PDA) with a wireless communication function, or a laptop personal computer, having a PIN verification function and a biometric information detecting function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile telephones, including ones adopting a global system for mobile communications (GSM) are known nowadays, which perform user authentication with subscriber identity module (SIM) cards detachable from the telephones. Specifically, each SIM card has information concerning a subscriber and a PIN stored therein. A user operates an operational unit of the mobile telephone to input his own PIN. The PIN input by the user is compared with the PIN stored in the SIM card. Use of the mobile telephone is permitted only if the PIN input by the user coincides with the one stored in the SIM card.
Meanwhile, user authentication using biometric information including the fingerprints, irises, or vein patterns of users has come into practical use in recent years. For example, an electronic device and an authentication method using such user authentication are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-512409.